The present invention relates to a system for variably sizing a living space, and more particularly, but not exclusively, relates to a reconfigurable living space system for a vehicle.
Recreational vehicles enjoy widespread popularity because they enable their owners to travel away from home for extended periods while enjoying many of the comforts of home. One persistent limitation of such vehicles is that their interior spaces are somewhat small and cramped compared to a normal living space. While many factors contribute to this design limitation, a major contributor is the relatively narrow width of the normal street or highway. The need to travel within the confines of a normal highway traffic line sets an upper limit on the feasible width of a recreational vehicle. Because this upper width limit is much smaller than the width of even a small room in a normal house, the interior of a typical recreational vehicle seems cramped by familiar comparison.
One ingenious solution to this problem is the incorporation of an expandable room into a recreational vehicle such as a motor home or a trailer. This feature has found application in other types of trailers and vehicles having occupiable space.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,299 to Steadman shows a trailer with an expandable living space provided, in part, by folding walls which pivot to a position against the side of the trailer when not in an expanded configuration. U.S. Pat. No. 2,898,143 to Ferrera shows a trailer with movable telescoping walls and a foldable floor which combine to provide an expandable living space. U.S. Pat. No. 2,906,556 to Cantele et al. also shows an expandable trailer with a folding floor. This existing system uses pivoting walls to expand the sides and a telescoping wall in the rear. Unfortunately, the folding walls and floors of these systems complicate the expansion process. Necessarily, these designs do not permit one to continuously occupy the expandable section of the vehicle in both the expanded and unexpanded positions.
Consequently, slide out rooms have been developed which are continuously occupiable in both the expanded and unexpanded positions. Quite often, these rooms are configured to emerge along an outer side wall of the vehicle when expanded. U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,430 to Dewald, Jr., et al. discusses slide out rooms and discloses a number of telescoping tubular supports connected to the underside of the vehicle to laterally move the slide out room between the expanded and unexpanded positions. These supports also must be configured to bear the load of the room in the expanded position. Ideally, such load bearing function is performed without the need for ground engaging supports other than those required for the vehicle in the unexpanded position.
One drawback with telescoping tubular support systems is the unacceptable frequency of binding between the slide out room and the fixed portion of the vehicle during movement. One system addresses this problem by adding a number of pulleys and cables to control motion of one telescoping support relative to another. Unfortunately, such systems generally increase complexity and expense.
Another drawback of telescoping tube support systems is that mounting of the supports occasionally requires significant gaps or voids in the vehicle chassis or frame--compromising structural integrity. For systems using a vehicle powered actuator to accomplish expansion, the threat of binding often limits the speed with which the telescoping members may be moved. Thus, there is a need for a system to move and support expandable portions of a vehicle that resists binding without increasing complexity. This system should be lighter, faster, and more power efficient than existing systems.